Memories Of The Past
by Ro222
Summary: The Annabeth Chase he knew had died a long time ago, and all that was left was the memories Percy kept clinging on to.


_**PJO ONE SHOT 4**_

 _ **I really am sorry for this. I am so sorry for what I am about to do to you all. Don't hurt me, please I'm too young to die. *Ducks from incoming book***_

 _ **Here you go, hope you like it ;)**_

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Enveloped in his own, Annabeth's hand was cold and pale, as if she had already given up fighting. It didn't matter whether she fought or gave up, the doctor's had said that she wouldn't last the night. The tumour had grown too big and too strong, and even the God's healing couldn't save her now.

Percy looked into his girlfriend's eyes and felt tears slip from his own. She was deathly pale, paler than Nico and her skin was almost as white as the bed sheets she was laying on. Her golden hair lay limp around her head, he ran his shaking fingers through it and savoured the touch of her.

Despite what was said at him in camp, Percy wasn't an idiot. He knew that her candle of life was flickering and dying, trying and failing to warn off the darkness that death caused. He bit his lip to stifle a sob and his eyes grew warm as more tears fell.

His best friend, his wise girl, was dying. He wanted to pick her up and hug her and kiss her and love her and cherish her and protect her the way she deserved, but the machines and how weak and frail she was made it hard for her to even move.

With a shaking hand, Annabeth raised her frail hand up to cup Percy's face and she wiped away the tears with a calloused thumb. Her lips trembled and a dry sob broke through them. He knew that she was trying to be strong, trying to be brave as she always had done in the past. He also knew that she had collapsed and shattered that day she had been diagnosed.

The Annabeth Chase he knew had died a long time ago, and all that was left was the memories Percy kept clinging on to.

Memories of her rolling her eyes every time he did something stupid, her calling him seaweed brain, her holding a dagger as she defended her friends, her golden hair in a messy pony tail, the awkward kisses and hugs, the dumb inside jokes, everything. They had all once been the present and the future. But now... now, all of those memories were nothing but a thing of the past.

She stared into his eyes and Percy felt rage boil somewhere deep inside of him, somewhere past the sadness and the hurt. The God's, how could they just sit back and watch Annabeth die? How could the fates let her get cancer? After everything they had been through...

But he suppressed his anger, he'd bottle it up and use it to keep his heart beating when the world wanted it to stop. He had to focus on the now, on what was right in front of him. "Seaweed Brain," she whispered, the words so quiet and small. "Seaweed brain, look at me."

He didn't want too, he didn't want to watch her die. He couldn't, he couldn't, he just _couldn't_. A sob burst through his lips, full of pain and sorrow and hatred. Percy shook his head, his gaze still transfixed on the ground. "Look at me," she murmured again, and somehow, he found the strength to look into her dying eyes. She managed to smile and for a second, Percy saw the remaining fragments of the girl he fell in love with.

"Annabeth," he whispered and gripped the hand that cupped his jaw. Tears fell and screams and sobs kept building up, begging to be released. "Please." He wasn't sure what, exactly, he was pleading for. Maybe for a miracle, or maybe for the Annabeth he knew to suddenly awaken and battle the cancer and make it through this.

Shaking her head, Annabeth let her hand drop onto the bed, still holding his. "Percy," she shook her head again. Hearing his name on her tongue made his heart twist. _It's not fair,_ he thought bitterly. _Not fair that the fates would kill a seventeen year old girl._

The future he had always imagined for them suddenly died, like a candle that had been blown out. The image of them sitting on their front porch, their arms around each other's shoulders as the sun sank, their children and grandchildren running around, giggling and laughing and chasing each other with water pistols. It was all gone, and Percy knew he would never get that back.

Still, Percy pushed those thoughts away and focused on the few remaining seconds he had with her. "We were twelve, Percy," Annabeth whispered, her lips wobbling and tears slipping down her face but there was a faint smile coming onto her lips as she remembered the day that they met. "Can you believe that?"

He couldn't believe it, actually. They had gone through so much, seen so much and knew too much. It was hard to comprehend how young they truly were. "If I could do it all other again," she shook her head. "I would." Tears fell on both of their faces now, sobs bursting through their lips every now and then. "In a heartbeat, I'd relive it all. You-You taught me what it was like to love, to live. I had never experienced what I felt for you before, not for anyone. Not even Thalia or Luke or my family. But you, Percy, you made me brave and strong and-" she sobbed and paused for breath, it killed him to see her so weak. "And I can never repay you for what you gave me.

"I love you, Perseus Jackson." She stroked the back of his hand, not looking at his tear covered face. "I-I'll go back into Tartarus if I have to, for you I'd do anything, give anything. Just, please, don't stop living just because of this. Please. You deserve to be happy, and everything happens for a reason so if I die," she shrugged, "then something amazing must come out of it."

Percy couldn't understand the words. She was dying. That was when it truly sank in. She was dying. Sob after sob, tear after tear, fell. He couldn't breath, couldn't speak, couldn't do anything but look into her eyes. "I love you, Wise Girl," he spoke so quickly, fearing that she'd die before he got to finish. "I love you so much."

She smiled weakly and Percy saw the way she struggled as she drew in a breath. "Thank you, for everything. And, when I first saw you all those years ago in the Infirmary, I never thought I could ever like you, let alone love. But, maybe we're all wrong sometimes. Even children of Athena."

Just as he was about to reply, Annabeth jerked up and kissed him with all that she had. Their tears mixed together and Percy weaved his fingers into her hair. Then, the heart monitor she was hooked up to began to slow and stutter.

Annabeth collapsed back on the bed, and flat lined.

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 _ **I am so sorry, honesty. Bad Ro.**_

 _ **I'm not too sure if there's a thing like Demigods can't get cancer or something like that, so just bear with me :)**_

 _ **Let me know your thoughts, I don't think this was particularly good but still, I love hearing your thoughts :)**_

 _ **Love you all! *Virtual Hugs***_

 _ **Ro x**_


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